For many years vehicle floors have been covered with an aesthetic material such as carpet. Often, the carpet includes padding material positioned between the pile of the carpet and the floor pan over which the carpet is laid. Typically, a single piece of carpet and a single pad cover the entire interior passenger compartment of the vehicle. The floor pan may have one or more recesses or channels for routing operating components, such as hydraulic brake lines or wire harnesses. These operating components require protection from the surrounding environment by shielding the recess. For example, a wire harness routed in a floor pan recess requires electrical isolation and crush protection.
It is common practice to protect the portion of a wire harness routed in a floor pan recess with a living hinged plastic sleeve or shield substantially conforming to the cross-section of the recess. During assembly of the vehicle, an open shield is installed in a recess, a wire harness is routed inside the shield, and the shield is snapped closed. Carpet and pad is then installed over top of the floor pan and shield. While this shielding method protects the wire harness, it nevertheless has several shortcomings including high labor and material cost.